It’s that time again: the ranking of league teams based on pre-season moves!
Last year, we started a lot earlier. Certain coaches (we love you, Éamon) kept the receipts and called us out when their teams ended up performing far beyond our early rankings. That’s cool, that’s what this is all about: seeing where teams are now.
There are less than two months remaining until the start of the season, and some rosters are nearly full. Others…not so much. We love to come back and compare, like when we had Omaha and Northern Colorado in the bottom six at this time last year, only to see them make multiple signings, and then finish first and third respectively. This initial ranking is just where your team is right now.
So without further delay, here’s where we rank the off-season moves, so far:
1) Lexington SC
2023 table finish: 9th
Returns: Khalid Balogun, Nico Brown, Austin Causey, Atês Diouf, Kaelon Fox, Kimball Jackson, Amal Knight, Pierre Mané, Tate Robertson
Additions: Ebenezer Ackon, Michael Agboola, Abel Caputo, Jorge Corrales, Azaad Liadi, Christian Lue Young, Modesto Méndez, Anthony Patti, Yannick Yankam
Departures: Will Baynham, Phila Dilamini, Owen Green, Joshua Head, Diallo Irakoze, Jalen James, Seo-in Kim, Charlie Machell, Franky Martinez, Terique Mohammed, Ceasar Murillo, Drew Patterson, Luke Phillips, Don Smart
Remaining needs: midfield depth
Lexington has certainly made the biggest off-season moves so far, and at the time of this writing, has the most complete roster.
First, they shed 14 members of the inaugural squad, including captain Charlie Machell, league veteran Don Smart and left back mainstay Terique Mohammed. And not to tarnish the talents of those players, because we’re sure they’ll end up elsewhere, but let’s just say the word “upgrade” only begins to describe the inbound players so far.
On defense, Lexington boasts an unbelievable amount of depth, bringing in Ebenezer Ackon from San Diego Loyal, Jorge Corrales from FC Tulsa, Modesto Méndez from Hartford Athletic, Christian Lue Young from NCFC’s title winning side, NISA star Anthony Patti from Albion San Diego and young Englishman Michael Agboola. They’ll be joined by returning Kaelon Fox, and Erick Ceja-Gonzalez.
Speaking of the midfield, it will also see a boost with the addition of defensive minded Abel Caputo from Tampa Bay Rowdies, and high value Maltese attacker Yannick Yankam. They also somehow convinced Jayden Onen to remain in the league, after his stellar year with Forward Madison and rumors of his return to England. With all the defensive depth, we should see Tate Robertson permanently shifted to the midfield as well, backed by Pierre Mané.
This doesn’t even touch on the fact that Lexington was able to retain the services of their top goal scorers and assist makers: Ates Diouf, Nico Brown, Khalid Balogun and Robertson. And then on Friday they dropped the bombshell: Azaad Liadi returns to the league after a season lighting up MLS NextPro with Huntsville City.
Any way we look at it, Lexington starts off these rankings the clear favorite.
2) Forward Madison
2023 table finish: 6th (lost in first round of playoffs)
Returns: Nazeem Bartman, Christian Chaney, Mauro Cichero, Jacob Crull, Derek Gebhard, Timmy Mehl, Aiden Mesias, Mitch Osmond, Stephen Payne, Martin Sanchez, Bernd Schipmann
Additions: Devin Boyce, Michael Chilaka, Cherif Dieye, Juan Galindrez, John Murphy, Jr.
Departures: Sam Brotherton, Pierre Da Silva, Jayden Onen, Robert Screen
Remaining needs: defensive depth
Last off-season, Madison hit the reset button, only returning five players. After making the playoffs (but bouncing out in the first round), they opted to return a solid core, building around the strengths. The main strength was goaltending and defense, a squad that only gave up 44 goals, with a league second-best 12 clean sheets.
Offense was a bit of a disappointment. The fundamentals were there, with striker Christian Chaney scoring 10 and creating 34 chances, and wingers Derek Gebhard and Nazeem Bartman adding 6 and 5 goals respectively. However, the team finished with the third-worst goals scored in the league.
In comes Juan Galindrez, fresh off a stint in the USL Championship, just a year removed from leaving Chattanooga Red Wolves as its all-time leading goal scorer. While questions remain how these two similar players will fit into a system together, it does address the urgency to add more goals.
Chaney and Galindrez will be flanked by Bartman and Gebhard, along with newcomer Cherif Dieye. Bartman and Gebhard provided 11 goals combined, and Dieye seems poised to exceed this if he remains healthy. The addition of Dieye provides much-needed offensive depth, and we saw what a healthy Dieye can do in Fuego’s final match of 2023, where he scored a brace on Richmond.
The bigger question for Madison is where everyone fits. On the attack, Isidro Martinez was on track to be among the league best in multiple offensive categories until he went down with a mid-season injury. His status remains unknown, while Jayden Onen (3 goals, 6 assists) departed to Lexington.
Rather than replace Martinez and Onen with similar standouts, Madison opted for better midfield depth. Aiden Mesias and Mauro Cichero return, joined by Devin Boyce and John Murphy, Jr.
We expect the remaining roster spots to similarly fill depth needs, so one injury does not derail a successful season.
3) Charlotte Independence
2023 table finish: 4th (playoff runners up)
Returns: Denzel Akyeampong, Luis Álvarez, Omar Ciss, Rayan Djedje, Clay Dimick, Shalom Dutey, Joel Johnson, Matt Levy, Tresor Mbuyu, Bachir Ndiaye, Gabriel Obertan, Austin Pack, Nick Spielman
Additions: Hugh Roberts
Departures: Avionne Flanagan
Remaining needs: left backs, strikers, midfield depth
Somehow, Charlotte keeps convincing rising stars Omar Ciss and Tresor Mbuyu to remain in the Queen City another year. And they’ve returned the favor; Ciss put up two goals and three assists from the midfield in 2023, along with 34 chances, while Mbuyu has 20 goals in the last two seasons. Both return in 2024, along with wingback Joel Johnson who contributed 6 goals, 5 assists and created 57 chances, and the league’s now senior member, Gabriel Obertan who remains a force in the midfield and on the wing even as he turns 35 before the seasons starts.
On defense, reigning goalkeeper of the year Austin Pack returns, a year after saving a record 129 shots and putting up 10 clean sheets. He’ll be fronted by center backs Hugh Roberts, Clay Dimick and Nick Spielman with Shalom Dutey returning as a solid option in case anyone needs a break. Bachir Ndiaye also returns after securing a defensive midfield spot last season.
Questions remain on the status of Miguel Ibarra, who led the 2023 squad with 8 assists on 45 chances created, but will be 34 soon after the season starts. Khori Bennett and Dane Kelly also remain unannounced. Bennett has 17 goals in the last two seasons, while Kelly contributed 8 in 2023. This allowed the squad to spread its threat around, rather than relying on one marked striker.
There’s still plenty of talent out there, and Charlotte has been known to wait out announcements of some big names. But the returning core is already strong, and we expect some big moves in the coming weeks.
4) Chattanooga Red Wolves
2023 table finish: 10th
Returns: Jonathan Filipe, Omar Gomez, Pedro Hernandez, Mayele Malango, Chevone Marsh, Ropapa Mensah, Yahir Paez, Richard Rentería, Ualefi
Additions: TJ Bush, Lucas Coutinho, Gustavo Fernandes, Leo Folla, Omar Hernandez, Stefan Lukic, Jamil Roberts, Declan Watters
Departures: Nico Cardona, Ryley Kraft, Aaron Lombardi, Walter Valera
Remaining needs: defensive depth, backup goalkeeper
After fighting all the way to the playoff finals in 2022, Chattanooga lost a massive amount of talent and ended up using 2023 as a bridge year, whether that was deliberate or not. They suffered from coaching instability and injuries through August, but would finish 10th after a late-season surge. In the surge, we caught a glimpse of promise. In 2024, they’re building on that.
in 2023, Chevone Marsh and Ropapa Mensah had 12 goals each, putting the tandem just below the level of Omaha’s Steevan Dos Santos and Noe Meza, and NCFC’s Oalex Anderson and Rafa Mentzingen. Both return in 2024, along with their steady backup, Mayele Malango, who found his rhythm late in the season under new head coach Scott Mackenzie (also returning). Into this late season mix came Jonathan Filipe, on loan from Hartford Athletic. He also returns, now on a permanent basis, after putting up an astounding 2 goals and 7 assists in just 13 matches. Omar Gomez also returns after joining later in the season and showing promise at central midfield. A full season with this crew? Sky’s the limit.
Not to stop there, key off-season additions include Lucas Coutinho, fresh off a career season at Greenville, Stefan Lukic from Northern Colorado and Leopoldo Hernández from LA Force. The latter might be expected to share defensive midfield duties with the returning veteran Ualafi depending on the needs of the day. All this being said, we don’t think Chattanooga is done announcing big names and expect someone new to fill in the starting role on the left side.
Defense in 2023 was, let’s be real, abysmal. Most of the back line looks to be departing, except for Richard Rentería, who performed well when not injured. The 27-year-old has experience at the Colombian top-flight, and started most matches when in the roster. He’ll be joined by a piece of one of 2023’s best defenses, Leo Folla, along with Gustavo Fernandes, who helped his NCFC side win the championship last season. Declan Watters enters the league from Sweden and provides a sizable option at center back.
Jamil Roberts returns to the league after spending 2023 in Australia, and is currently the only left back on the roster. Roberts scored the match winner in the 2022 championship against Chattanooga while a part of Tormenta FC. We expect a few more defensive-minded signings in the coming weeks. Gomez also remains a viable option at right back, a position he played with Colorado Rapids 2. With the center midfield depth as strong as it is, he might be trusted to play behind Filipe and Marsh on the right side.
Finally, TJ Bush joins in goal after two seasons at Tormenta. He split duties with Pablo Jara in 2023, a season they both may like to forget after a stellar 2022. So far he is poised to be the number one in Chattanooga.
It’s likely to be a completely different season than we saw in 2023.
5) One Knoxville
2023 table finish: 8th
Returns: Gio Calixtro, Rodolfo Castro, Jalen Crisler, Dani Fernandez, Iija Ilic, Callum Johnson, Angelo Kelly-Rosales, Sean Lewis, Sean O’Hearn, Frank Ross, Jordan Skelton, James Thomas, Yesin van der Pluijm
Additions: Kingsford Adjei, Rich Ballard, DJ Benton, Sivert Haugli, Innocent Nshuti, Stuart Ritchie, Kempes Tekiela
Departures: Gabriel Claudio, Sam Fletcher, Jan Erik Leinhos, Kyle McDowell, Peter Swinkels, Jimmie Villalobos, Matthew Vowinkel, Derek Waldeck
Remaining needs: backup goalkeeper
Knoxville had the league’s second-best defense in 2023, only conceding 39 goals. In 2024, they will return all but one mainstay defender, Derek Waldeck. They added DJ Benton from championship winning NCFC, where he fell in and out of the depth chart on a squad overflowing with talent. Benton is a right back by trade, but capable of playing where needed on the back line. On the left side, they bring in Stuart Ritchie, a left back who Richmond transferred to Columbus last off season. One Knox’s defense should present just as much of a challenge in 2024.
It was offense where the 2023 squad struggled. Despite such a low number of goals conceded, they still finished with a -3 goal differential. This was most certainly the breaker when it came to missing out on the playoffs.
With 2023’s leading scorer Jake Keegan still unannounced, the club signed Kingsford Adjei, who, like many on the 2023 Tormenta side, had a slight down year after an outstanding one in 2022. It would be a fresh start for both Knoxville and Adjei. They also brought in winger Rich Ballard from USL Championship and Innocent Nshuti, a 25-year-old striker from Rwanda’s top flight. German striker Kempes Tekiela signed on last week as well. Frank Ross, Rudi Castro and Gio Calixtro return as depth options. We aren’t cerain the status of veteran Ilija Ilic, having not heard an official announcement on his status yet. He was previously announced on a multi-year deal as a player/coach, but the standard return announcement has not been made for 2024.
Anyway, there are some unknowns here, with so many new faces up front. Coach Mark McKeever should know what he has to do – find players who can create and convert chances. Just a small push in that department should see Knoxville making the expanded playoff field with ease.
6) Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
2023 table finish: 3rd (lost in semi-final)
Returns: McCain Clarke, Jackson Dietrich, Lalo Delgado, Brecc Evans, Billy King, Enock Kwakwa, Marky Hernandez, Lucky Opara, Irvin Parra, Bruno Rendon, Daniel Robles
Additions: Real Gill, Patrick Langlois, Russell Shealy
Departures: Trevor Amann, Donald Benemna, Rob Cornwall, Leo Folla, Stefan Lukic, Destan Norman, Arthur Rogers, Brandon Rosas, Valentin Sabella
Remaining needs: center backs, depth
Hailstorm FC lost the heartbeat of its 2023 offensive operation with Trevor Amann (league record 23 goals, plus three more in the playoffs) and Arthur Rogers (11 assists, 92 chances created) heading to the USL Championship. They also lost team captain Rob Cornwall to the Irish Premier League.
But if there’s one lesson we all learned last year, never underestimate coach Éamon Zayed.
He’ll start with some heavy hitters, with Irvin Parra slated to return for a full season. Parra scored 12 goals in 2022 before missing a large portion of the 2023 season with a medical issue, and has a long history of goal scoring across the USL Championship before that. Patrick Langlois enters from the Australian second division, where the attacking midfielder led South Melbourne FC last season with 9 goals and 3 assists. He’ll also have Billy King returning (8 goals, 5 assists), and Marky Hernandez (7 goals, 3 assists). They’ll be backed by young league newcomer Real Gill. The obvious question is who fills in the 23 goals scored by Amann? Seems like a decent number of options, even if those goals are spread around, rather than coming from one man.
Defensively, he’ll have the continued services of Bruno Rendon, Lucky Opara and Brecc Evans, backed by goalkeeper of the year nominee Lalo Delgado. While he’ll need to fill in some more holes, Zayed starts with a solid core in rebuilding the league’s stingiest regular season defense. If anyone is capable of replacing Amann and Rogers, he’s the one to do it.
7) Union Omaha
2023 table finish: 1st (lost in semi-final)
Returns: Dion Acoff, Pedro Dolabella, Steevan Dos Santos, Joe Gallardo, Anderson Holt, Lagos Kunga, Luca Mastrantonio, Marco Milanese, Rashid Nuhu
Additions: Adam Aoumaich, Blake Malone, Nortei Nortey
Departures: Shaft Brewer, Jr., Joe Brito, Noe Meza, JP Scearce, Chavany Willis
Remaining needs: second striker, depth, backup goalkeeper
First, we know that Omaha is losing a massive part of the core that led the squad to the 2023 Player’s Shield on the strength of a mind-blowing second-half-of-the-season run. Everything with this squad clicked and they were unstoppable until falling by one penalty kick in the playoff semifinal to Charlotte. And as is typical when a third-division side is loaded with talent, the second-division takes a look and picks off of a few.
The good news is, they will start rebuilding with a more than solid core, including Steevan Dos Santos, Joe Gallardo, Dion Acoff, Luca Mastrantonio, Marco Milanese and Rashid Nuhu.
A defense is somewhat in order, with the addition of Blake Malone to replace Shaft Brewer, and the return of Mastrantonio, Milanese, and Acoff. They’ll likely be adding some more options over the next few Tuesdays.
With JP Scearce off to Phoenix and the status of Conor Doyle unknown, Omaha poached defensive midfielder Nortei Nortey from Northern Colorado. He’s a worthy replacement, but will need backup.
With Noe Meza departing for Memphis 901, there’s a big hole up front that can’t fall on Dos Santos and Gallardo alone. Again, we’re expecting a few more options to be announced over the next few Tuesdays.
Omaha likes to take its time on announcements, so we will keep them higher in the rankings based on remaining goodwill from 2023, and the fact that we think they have some big names still incoming. The last thing they will want to do is end up like Richmond in 2023, where big talent was picked off by other leagues and teams and not adequately replaced, resulting in a drop from Players’ Shield to 11th place.
8) Richmond Kickers
2023 table finish: 11th
Returns: Nathan Aune, Dakota Barnathan, Chris Cole, Simon Fitch, João Gomiero, Beckett Howell, Landon Johnson, Zaca Moran, Chandler O’Dwyer, Ryan Sierakowski, Justin Sukow, Emiliano Terzaghi, Nil Vinyals
Additions: Arthur Bosua, Gui Franca, Pablo Jara, Maxi Schenfeld, James Vaughan
Departures: Akira Fitzgerald, Owayne Gordon, Michael Hornsby, Luke Pavone
Remaining needs: depth, backup goalkeeper
Richmond won the Players’ Shield in 2022, and like Omaha in 2023, promptly lost a great deal of the talent that helped them get there. 2023 ended up being a bridge year, or so the fans in Richmond hope.
The core of the team returns, with the exception of left back Michael Hornsby (free agent), and goalkeepers Akira Fitzgerald (NCFC) and Will Palmquist (rumored to be signing elsewhere in the league). Most of 2023’s depth options appear set to depart as well.
Highlights of 2023 included midfielder Nil Vinyals with 6 goals, 4 assists and 66 chances created. However, many of the chances went unfulfilled, a problem compounded when Emiliano Terzaghi missed a string of matches with an injury. To mitigate this, the team signed Arthur Bosua from Tormenta, a promising and sizable forward who suffered a season (and then some) ending injury in 2022. He competed for minutes with some pretty talented players upon his return in 2023, and should benefit in Richmond’s setup.
Besides Bosua, Richmond brings in first-year professional midfielder Gui Franca from Dalton State University, and James Vaughan from England’s sixth tier. And Pablo Jara enters from Tormenta FC to replace Fitzgerald. With Hornsby departing, Richmond signed Maxi Schenfeld, who shared the left side of the pitch with Hornsby at Fuego in 2022. He spent 2023 a free agent, despite putting up solid numbers in 2022.
So far we’re cautiously optimistic on Richmond’s prospects this season, pending the remaining moves they make to fill in the badly needed depth.
9) Greenville Triumph
2023 table finish: 5th (lost in first round of playoffs)
Returns: Leo Castro, Brandon Fricke, Hassan Gabo, Evan Lee, Lyam MacKinnon, Tyler Polak, Gunther Rankenburg, Nate Schultz, Jamie Smith, Daniel Wu
Additions: Hayden Anderson, Carlos Anguiano
Departures: Alex Cox-Ashwood, Devin Boyce, Lucas Coutinho, Venton Evans, Noah Franke, Fernando Garcia, Allen Gavilanes, Jacob Labovitz, Jared Mazzola, Noah Pilato, Tevin Shaw
Remaining needs: right wing/midfielders, left midfield, depth, backup goalkeeper
Greenville is slow-walking its roster announcements so far, similar to last season. There are some pretty big holes to be filled, with the departures of Lucas Coutinho (Chattanooga Red Wolves), Allen Gavilanes (The Miami FC) and the probable departures of Jacob Labovitz and Aaron Walker. Oh, and long-time coach John Harkes also departed.
That being said, Leo Castro and Lyam MacKinnon both return after providing 20 goals and 8 assists between them. MacKinnon showed flashes of brilliance in 2023 that could turn into golden boot potential with the right midfielders added to the mix. This is where the loss of Allen Gavilanes, and his replacement becomes critical. Carlos Anguiano is probably a good start, bringing an outsized number of years of experience from USL Championship for his young age of 24.
A large portion of the stingy defense returns as well, with Jamie Smith, Brandon Fricke, Tyler Polak, Evan Lee and Nate Schultz taking their usual spots mixed around the back line and defensive midfield. They’re joined by backups Hassan Gabo and Daniel Wu, and newcomer Hayden Anderson.
Gunther Rankenburg returns after a season of backing up Jared Mazzola, now with Sacramento Republic. We don’t know the plans for the net, but we do know that Mazzola was backup before he became a star. We’re keeping any eye on any other keepers brought into the mix.
We’ll need a few more pieces to make further judgement, but just as in Richmond, things are cautiously optimistic.
10) South Georgia Tormenta
2023 table finish: 7th
Returns: Nick Akoto, Jake Dengler, Pedro Fonseca, Jackson Khoury, Preston Kilwien, Collin Mocyunas
Departures: Kingsford Adjei, Mukwelle Akale, Elija Amo, Arthur Bosua, TJ Bush, Chris Heckenberg, Pablo Jara, Daltyn Knutson, Davey Mason, John Murphy, Deshawon Nembhard, Tobias Otieno, Kazaiah Sterling
Additions: Tavio D’Almeida, Aaron Lombardi, Ford Parker, Joshua Ramos, Daniel Steedman, Callum Stretch, Mason Tunbridge, Niall Watson
Remaining needs: striker, depth, backup goalkeeper
Tormenta FC won the league title in 2022, only to return in 2023 and miss out on the playoffs by one point. As is the sometimes nature of lower league soccer, the two-year cycle of players hit this off-season, as 13 players were announced as not returning. This list included some major talent, many of whom have already been scooped up by other USL League One sides and the USL Championship.
The roster is still a work in progress, with more announcements expected over the next two weeks. For now, we have an idea of a very young roster, built around a few solid returnees, including young player of the year Jackson Khoury, Pedro Fonseca, Jake Dengler, Preston Kilwien and Nick Akoto. Aaron Lombardi, who was one of the bright spots on an otherwise dreadful Chattanooga defense also joins the veteran squad.
Daniel Steedman, who spent 2022-2023 as a free agent, returns to the league. The midfielder last appeared for NCFC in 2021. He’s joined by first year professionals Mason Tunbridge, Callum Stretch, Tavio D’Almeida, and Niall Watson, a forward from the English National Leagues.
There are a lot of unknowns right now, but it wouldn’t be the first time coach Ian Cameron took a bunch of unknowns and made them work.
11) Spokane Velocity
Additions: Jack Denton, Josh Dolling, Grayson Dupont, Collin Fernandez, Javier Gil, Morgan Hackworth, Marcelo Lage, Carlos Merancio, Dereck Waldeck
Remaining needs: striker, midfield depth, defensive depth, backup goalkeeper
2024’s lone expansion side is slowly filling out the roster with a mix of USL Championship veterans, a couple of new professionals and one USL League One veteran. We don’t have much to go on at the moment, and while they’re all solid additions, there’s no wow factor just yet.
We do know that Derek Waldeck and Marcelo Lage are excellent starts in building out a back line. Waldeck was part of 2023’s top defense with One Knox, while also providing six assists. Lage scored four with USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights.
Additionally, Josh Dolling split 2023 with New Mexico United and Las Vegas Lights, with four assists between the clubs. He spent 2022 with MSL NextPro side St. Louis City 2, where he scored 8 goals.
Like we said, it’s a good start, and we’re not counting out what coach Leigh Veidman has up his sleeve. Expect some big news over the coming weeks.
12) Central Valley Fuego
2023 table finish: 12th
Returns: José Carrera-García, David Diaz, Qudus Lawal, Omar Lemus
Additions: none
Departures: Othoniel Arce, Villyan Bijev, Diego Casillas, Alexis Cerritos, Cherif Dieye, François Dulysse, Maximus Ekk, Jesse Williams
Remaining needs: a roster
We know, it’s the same old story: Fuego FC at the bottom of the initial rankings. To be fair, they haven’t given us much to go on yet.
Except: they hired USMNT superstar Jermaine Jones as head coach, something that could be extremely valuable in attracting new talent to a side that finished last in 2023.
He’s starting the build around midfielders José Carrera-García and David Diaz, forward Qudus Lawal and right back Omar Lemus. That’s not a bad start. Carrera-García had a down year in 2023, but is still just one year removed from his All League first-team season with Chattanooga. Lawal added two goals in the six matches in which he appeared late in the season, while Lemus added four assists on the season.
Confirmed to be exiting the squad in the off-season include 2023’s leading goal scorer Alexis Cerritos, and young defender Jesse Williams, both of whom head to MLS NextPro. Professional veteran Othoniel Arce didn’t quite pan out in 2023, and heads to CD San Pedro in Guatemala, while Villyan Bijev announced his retirement. Center back François Dulysse is already playing in Albania, and midfielder Cherif Dieye jumped to Forward Madison.
Why we’re hopeful: while he’s not yet proven as a coach, Jermaine Jones’ star power alone should be able to attract considerable amounts of talent. The team does like to take its time in building a roster and making announcements, so this last place ranking is more a reflection having a roster of four, while squads above are more filled out.
Correction: a previous version of this story named One Knoxville as conceding the fewest goals with 39; it was corrected to name Northern Colorado as conceding the fewest regular season goals with 37.